Detergent cartons are typically provided with perforated lines along which the consumer is expected to make a tear to create an opening. However, consumers tend to find it difficult to tear cleanly the carton. Moreover, the opening thus created is not reclosable, so unwanted escape of product often occurs during transport of the carton from its place of storage to the washing location.
Gunn U.S. Pat. No. 4,732,315 discloses a plastic fitment which can be glued onto a carton blank and which serves as a reclosable pouring spout. However, a significant increase in the amount of plastic used for detergent cartons may be undesirable on environmental grounds. Moreover, Gunn discloses that the increased thickness attributable to the plastic fitment requires increasing the thickness of the carton blank in a location remote from the fitment in order to balance the thickness of the carton. Otherwise, when the carton blanks in folded tubular form are stacked, the stack becomes unbalanced due to the increased thickness at one location.
There is, therefore, a need for a carton closure which does not increase the amount of plastic present on the carton and which does not tend to cause an imbalance in the carton.